CUT 

JUN  3    1921 


WAKE  UP 
AMERICANS! 


WAKE  UP 
AMERICANS ! 


Addressed  to 

American  Colorr?  in  San  Francisco 

B>>  tKe  author 

Obert  F.  Simpson 


£  6" 


TITLES  OF  CHAPTERS 

The  California  Tradition 

The  Berkeley  Tradition 

Washington  Square 

Portsmouth  Square 

The  San  Francisco  Civic  Center 

The  Gallomania  Propaganda 


THE  CALIFORNIA  TRADITION 

The  most  valuable  assets  of  civilization  in  this  part 
of  the  world,  are  the  romantic  charm  and  sentimental 
interest  which  belong  to  the  brave  old  days  of  the  early 
West,  when  the  great  buffalo  herds  roamed  the  vast 
unmapped  terrain  of  the  Western  plains,  and  the  signal 
fires  of  the  Indians  burned  in  the  defiles  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains  and  the  caravans  of  the  Pioneers  wandered 
and  lost  their  way  in  the  Great  American  Desert,  and 
California  was  a  land  of  romance,  and  a  fairy  tale  came 
true  and  there  really  was  a  bag  of  gold  at  the  foot  of 
the  rainbow. 

Their  capacity  for  sentiment  is  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant of  those  characteristics  which  distinguish  men 
from  dogs.  A  man  who  is  incapable  of  sentiment  is 
no  better  than  a  dog.  The  sentimental  interest  which 
attaches  to  the  California  tradition  is  derived  from  four 
historical  elements. 

The  first  of  these  is  the  great  epic  story  of  the 
advance  of  the  Aryan  races  in  their  westward  march 
across  the  world. 

In  all  history  there  is  no  greater  theme  than  this. 
After  thousands  of  years  of  migrations,  after  incredible 
disasters  and  delays  the  Aryan  races  have  established 
their  final  frontier  line  on  the  western  shore  of  the 
three  Americas.  Beyond  this  frontier  line  are  the  senti- 
nel islands  of  the  sea,  and  Australasia,  but  today  the 
main  frontier  line  of  the  Aryan  races  is  the  western 


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shore  of  the  three  Americas.  That  white  men,  instead 
of  yellow  men,  should  have  gained  possession  of  the 
Pacific  Coast  of  North  America,  is  one  of  the  miracles 
of  history. 

The  conquest  of  the  West,  which  gained  the  Pacific 
Coast  for  the  Great  Republic  and  gave  to  our  country 
its  continental  dimensions,  which  alone  suffice  to  make 
it  a  great  nation,  was  one  of  those  achievements, 
fraught  with  portent  to  all  mankind,  which  stand  out 
against  the  background  of  history,  like  the  conquest  of 
Gaul  by  Julius  Caesar,  or  the  Norman  conquest  of 
England. 

This  great  drama  of  the  Conquest  of  the  West,  a 
drama  whose  story  has  never  yet  been  told,  a  drama  full 
of  innumerable  acts  of  heroism,  of  a  "thousand  moving 
accidents  by  flood  and  field,"  was  enacted  against  the 
background  of  a  colorful  Spanish  tradition,  the  tradition 
"Hispaniarum  et  Indiarum" ;  a  tradition  whose  romantic 
charm  still  lingers  in  the  geographical  names  on  the 
map  of  California  and  the  Southwest,  a  tradition  illu- 
minated by  such  interesting  episodes  as  Ponce  de  Leon's 
search  for  the  fabled  Fountain  of  Youth,  and  by  such 
dramatic  incidents, 

"As  when  stout  Cortez,  with  eagle  eyes, 
Stared  at  the  Pacific 
And  all  his  men,  turned  to  each  other, 
In  a  wild  surmise 
Silent upon  a  peak  in  Darien." 

a  tradition,  dignified  by  the  heroic  devotion  of  the 
Mission  Fathers,  and  furthermore  enriched  by  an  inter- 


esting  architectural  style  of  its  own,  reminiscent  of  the 
Castle  and  the  Lion,  beyond  the  Spanish  Main;  a  tradi- 
tion which  has  bequeathed  to  California,  in  the  Mis- 
sions, the  greatest  archaeological  wealth  of  any  State  of 
the  Union, — the  tradition  "Hispaniarum  et  Indiarum.'* 

After  the  Spanish  explorers,  Conquestadores  and 
Missionaries,  after  Cabrillo,  Viscanyo,  Portola  and 
Junipero  Serra,  came  the  halcyon  decades  of  pastoral 
California.  For  seventy  years  California  was  Spanish, 
in  laws,  customs,  and  language.  Men  were  born  in 
California,  under  the  flag  of  Spain,  and  grew  old  and 
gray  and  died  and  never  saw  an  American  flag,  or  heard 
the  English  language  spoken. 

Then  came  the  American  Conquest,  came  Fremont 
the  Pathfinder,  Kit  Carson  the  Scout,  hunters,  trappers, 
adventurers,  soldiers  of  fortune,  Walker  the  Filibuster, 
and  a  host  of  lesser  worthies. 

After  the  American  Conquest  came  the  Gold  Find- 
ers. There  is  no  other  theme  of  more  universal  interest 
to  mankind  than  the  quest  for  gold. 

The  discovery  of  gold  by  James  Marshall,  in  Janu- 
ary, 1848,  was  one  of  the  most  important  events  in 
American  history  . 

It  opened  the  door  of  hope  to  poor  men  in  every 
country  in  Christendom,  it  hastened  the  colonization  of 
the  West,  but  far  more  important  than  either  of  these 
results,  it  served  to  stabilize  American  finance  at  the 
most  critical  period  in  the  history  of  the  United  States. 

Fort  Sumpter  was  fired  upon  on  the  twelfth  of 
April,  1 86 1 .  During  the  thirteen  years  which  elapsed 


between  the  discovery  of  gold  by  Marshall  and  the  firing 
on  Fort  Sumpter,  the  gold  mines  of  California  produced 
gold  to  the  value  of  more  than  five  hundred  millions 
of  dollars.  The  total  amount  of  minted  gold  and  silver 
in  the  United  States  on  January  1st,  1849 — was  in 
round  numbers — 1  13  millions  of  dollars.  By  January 
the  first,  1861 — this  amount  had  grown  to  163  million, 
an  increase  of  44%.  During  the  decade  1850-1860 — 
the  shipments  of  gold  bullion  from  San  Francisco  to 
New  York  approximated  38  millions  of  dollars  per 
annum.  This  steady  stream  of  gold  from  California  to 
New  York,  was  the  most  important  of  those  economic 
factors  which  gave  to  the  North  its  financial  strength, 
which  enabled  our  country  to  weather  the  storm  of  the 
great  Civil  War,  and  to  preserve  the  Union. 

These  are  the  four  historical  elements  of  the  Cali- 
fornia tradition. 

First,  the  great  epic  story  of  the  Aryan  migration, 
consummated  on  the  Pacific  shores  of  the  three  Amer- 
icas, a  story  that  lays  hold  on  the  very  foundations  of 
history,  a  story  whose  beginning  is  lost  in  the  shadows 
of  antiquity. 

Second,  the  tradition  "Hispaniarum  et  Indiarum." 

Third,  the  story  of  the  American  Conquest,  Fourth, 
the  story  of  the  Gold  Finders.  These  are  the  four  his- 
torical elements  of  that  tradition,  dear  to  the  hearts  of 
Californians,  which  gives  to  California  her  place  among 
the  important  communities  of  the  world. 

And  what  are  Californians  doing  to  honor  the  Cali- 
fornia tradition,  to  preserve  the  memory  of  it  and  to 
idealize  it?  Let  us  see. 


THE  BERKELEY  TRADITION 
Nearly  two  hundred  years  ago,  a  man  of  genius, 
one  of  the  foremost  intellectuals  of  his  time,  wrote 
these  immortal  lines. 

"Westward  the  course  of  empire  takes  its  way. 
The  first  four  acts  already  past, 
A  fifth  shall  close  the  drama  with  the  day, 
Time's  noblest  offspring  is  the  last.'* 

Now  in  time,  the  course  of  empire  reached  the 
shores  of  the  Pacific  Ocean  and  on  San  Francisco  Bay 
facing  the  Golden  Gate  was  founded  a  city,  and  this 
city  was  named  Berkeley.  Here  was  a  fine  sentiment. 
Here  was  an  idea  that  would  have  contributed  to  the 
idealization  of  the  California  tradition. 

Here  was  an  idea  invaluable  to  the  city  of  Berkeley, 
to  the  State  University,  and  to  all  California.  And  this 
idea  has  been  completely  suppressed.  Will  you  find 
Berkeley's  immortal  words  inscribed  over  the  entrance 
to  the  Berkeley  City  Hall?  You  will  not.  Is  there 
anything  whatever  anywhere  in  or  about  the  City  of 
Berkeley  to  suggest  the  origin  of  the  city's  name? 
Nothing  whatever. 

As  you  approach  the  city  of  Washington,  D.  C.,  you 
see  in  the  distance,  a  great  monument,  dominating  the 
landscape — the  Washington  monument.  As  you  ap- 
proach the  City  of  Berkeley,  you  can  see  from  twenty 
miles  away,  a  great  tower  of  granite,  overlooking  the 


8 

City  of  Berkeley.  This  great  Berkeley  monument  was 
built,  entirely  without  any  consideration  of  the  Berke- 
ley tradition. 

The  great  Berkeley  landmark,  that  is  to  say,  the  pre- 
tentious and  architecturally  commonplace  and  uninter- 
esting campanile,  which  dominates  the  Berkeley  hill- 
side, will  stand  for  all  the  future  ages  to  commemorate 

the  profound  historical  fact  that Peder  Sather  was 

thrifty. 

To  suppress  a  fine  sentiment  and  to  glorify  money. 

How  characteristically  middle-class.  Near  the  Sather 
Campanile  stands  California  Hall,  the  administration 
building  of  the  State  University,  the  center  of  the  intel- 
lectual life  of  California.  Every  student  of  history 
knows,  or  ought  to  know,  that  the  character  of  a  civiliz- 
ation is  established  more  convincingly  by  the  evidence  of 
its  monumental  architecture  than  by  any  other  evidence. 
If  there  is  any  one  architectural  monument  in  Cali- 
fornia, which  should  possess  historical  character  and 
sentimental  interest,  that  structure  is  California  Hall. 

California  Hall  should  be  the  very  apple  of  the  eye 
of  California,  as  Salisbury  Close  is  the  apple  of  the  eye 
of  England,  as  the  Forum  Romanum  is  the  very  soul  of 
Italy. 

And  what  do  we  find? 

California  Hall  is  a  granite  box,  entirely  without 
any  suggestion  of  the  California  tradition. 

In  so  far  as  historical  character  or  sentimental  in- 
terest are  suggested,  it  would  "belong**  quite  as  well  in 
Hinkmansville,  Pa.,  or  Hackensack,  N.  J. 


Californians  are  creating  a  magnificent  million-dol- 
lar burst  of  architectural  magnificence  overlooking  the 
Golden  Gate,  in  San  Francisco,  to  glorify  a  French 
historical  tradition. 

There  will  be  no  lack  of  historical  character  or  senti- 
mental interest  here. 

This  great  architectural  monument  is  to  be  a  repro- 
duction of  the  Palace  of  the  Legion  of  Honor  in  Paris. 
The  French  Government  sends  Sevres  porcelains  and 
Gobelin  tapestries  for  the  decoration  of  this  magnificent 
palace,  to  glorify  a  French  tradition  which  has  no  histo- 
rical or  ethnological  basis,  whatever,  in  this  part  of  the 
world. 

Californians  can  do  nothing  to  honor  their  own  Cali- 
fornia tradition,  but  they  can  spend  a  million  dollars  to 
glorify  a  French  tradition. 


WASHINGTON  SQUARE 

Leaving  behind  us  the  granite  boxes  on  the  Berkeley 
hillside,  which  the  people  of  California  are  expected  to 
admire  as  an  exhibition  of  genius,  let  us  go  to  Wash- 
ington Square  in  San  Francisco. 

In  the  center  of  Washington  Square,  stands,  on  a 
granite  pedestal,  a  statue  of — whom  do  you  suppose? — 
Benjamin  Franklin.  There  is  a  Franklin  Square  in  San 
Francisco,  and  one  would  suppose,  that,  if  a  statue  of 
Benjamin  Franklin  were  to  be  set  up  anywhere,  it  would 
be  set  up  in  Franklin  Square.  There  will  be  no  care- 
lessness about  the  great  French  monument  near  the 
Golden  Gate.  It  is  to  be  one  of  the  finest  things  of  the 
kind  in  the  world. 

It  is  to  be  embellished  with  the  finest  sculptures.  A 
French  architect  has  been  sent  from  France  to  make 
sure  that  French  historical  traditions  are  carefully  pre- 
served. France  must  have  the  best,  but  any  old  junk  in 
the  form  of  a  monument,  is  good  enough  for  the  Father 
of  His  Country. 


PORTSMOUTH  SQUARE 

Leaving  Washington  Square,  in  San  Francisco,  let 
us  proceed  to  Portsmouth  Square. 

Portsmouth  Square — the  center  of  the  life  of  old 
San  Francisco,  in  the  roaring  old  "days  of  old,  the  days 
of  gold,  the  days  of  '49." 

One  hears  much  nowadays  about  "Americaniza- 
tion/* Americanization  began  in  this  community  at 
precisely  8  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  ninth  day  of 
July,  in  the  year  eighteen  hundred  and  forty-six,  at 
which  hour,  Captain  Montgomery  landed  eighty  men, 
from  the  United  States  Ship  Portsmouth  on  the  beach 
of  San  Francisco  Bay,  and  marched  them  to  the  Plaza 
of  the  Pueblo  of  Yerba  Buena,  where  he  read  a  procla- 
mation announcing  the  annexation  of  California  by  the 
United  States  and  hoisted  the  American  flag  on  the  flag 
pole  in  front  of  the  Custom  House  of  Yerba  Buena,  to 
the  accompaniment  of  a  salute  of  twenty-one  guns  from 

the  Portsmouth. 
£ 

This  was  unquestionably  the  most  important  event 
in  the  history  of  this  community. 

On  that  day  this  community  ceased  to  be  a  Mexican 
pueblo  and  began  its  eventful  and  picturesque  career  as 
an  American  town.  The  Fourth  of  July  is  all-America's 
day,  the  Ninth  of  September  belongs  to  all  California, 
but  the  ninth  of  July  is  San  Francisco's  own  day. 

Yet  the  ninth  of  July  comes  and  goes  and  the  news- 
papers never  mention  its  historical  significance.  San 


12 

Francisco  seems  to  be  ashamed  of  it.     She  seems  to  be 
trying  to  live  it  down. 

The  French  Colony  celebrates  the  fourteenth  of 
July,  the  Italian  Colony  celebrates  Columbus  day.  Each 
foreign  colony  has  a  day  to  celebrate.  San  Francisco 
completely  ignores  the  one  day  of  the  year,  peculiarly 
her  own.  Why  should  San  Francisco  belittle  and  sup- 
press the  one  historical  tradition  that  links  her  to  the 
romantic  story  of  the  Conquest  of  the  West? 

Obviously,  the  first  step  in  the  policy  of  American- 
ization, should  be  to  make  the  most  of  American 
tradition. 

In  the  center  of  Portsmouth  Square,  you  will  find  a 
beautiful  monument  of  granite  and  bronze  "to  remem- 
ber Robert  Louis  Stevenson."  This  monument  is  sur- 
mounted by  a  bronze  effigy  of  a  mythical  ship  "Bona- 
venture"  symbolizing  the  spirit  of  adventure  which  is 
assumed  to  have  characterized  the  romances  of  Steven- 
son. But  we  do  not  have  to  go  to  the  realms  of  fancy  to 
find  a  ship  to  commemorate  in  Portsmouth  Square.  The 
Square  derives  its  name  from  a  certain  particular,  and 
historically  important  ship,  the  U.  S.  S.  Portsmouth. 
Obviously,  if  any  ship  is  to  be  commemorated  by  a 
monument  in  the  Square  it  should  be  the  ship  for  which 
the  square  was  named. 

Nor  do  Californians  need  to  go  to  the  stories  of  Ste- 
venson for  romance.  The  History  of  California  is  more 
romantic  than  anything  Stevenson  could  have  imagined. 
Stevenson  made  his  literary  reputation  by  the  story  of 
Treasure  Island.  California  is  more  than  a  Treasure 
Island.  California  is  a  Treasure  Empire. 


13 

Robert  Louis  Stevenson  was,  all  his  life,  a  Scotch- 
man, an  exile  from  his  beloved  Scotland,  pining  for  his 
native  land.  One  of  his  favorite  aphorisms  was, 
* 'Scratch  me  and  you  will  find  a  thistle.**  His  sojourn 
in  this  community  was  transitory  and  ephemeral.  He 
had  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  public  affairs  in  this 
country. 

That  Portsmouth  Square  should  be  dominated  by  the 
personality  of  this  Scotch  novelist,  to  the  detriment  of 
San  Francisco*s  one  invaluable  historical  tradition  is 
surely  wrong. 

Good  taste  and  common  sense,  to  say  nothing  of 
patriotism,  dictate,  that  the  American  flag  should  have 
the  place  of  honor  in  Portsmouth  Square,  for  it  was 
there  that  the  flag  was  first  raised  in  this  community. 

The  Stevenson  tradition  is  one  of  San  Francisco's 
assets.  Stevenson  was  a  genius,  and  he  lived  obscurely 
for  a  while  in  San  Francisco. 

It  is  well  that  he  should  be  remembered,  but  there 
are  other  places  than  Portsmouth  Square  in  which  to 
set  up  his  monument. 

If  Golden  Gate  Park  is  a  good  enough  place  in 
which  to  set  up  statues  of  President  Garfield,  and  Gen- 
eral Grant,  and  Junipero  Serra,  and  Thomas  Starr  King, 
it  is  a  good  enough  place  for  the  Stevenson  monument. 

Or  if  objections  can  be  made  to  Golden  Gate  Park, 
then  the  Stevenson  monument  can  be  moved  back  from 
the  center  of  the  Square  and  placed  in  an  arbor  in  the 
rear.  In  the  center  of  Portsmouth  Square  should  stand 
a  monument  to  old  San  Francisco,  now  forever  gone, 


14 

"the  good  gray  city  loved  around  the  world,"  and  this 
monument  should  be  built  four  square.  And  on  the 
front  of  it,  should  be  a  bas-relief  in  bronze,  showing  the 
Pueblo  of  Yerba  Buena  as  it  appeared  in  1 846  with  the 
U.  S.  S.  Portsmouth  riding  at  anchor  in  the  foreground, 
and  with  this  should  be  a  medallion  portrait,  in  bronze, 
of  Captain  Montgomery  and  an  inscription,  reading, 
"Captain  James  B.  Montgomery  of  the  U.  S.  S.  Ports- 
mouth, on  the  ninth  day  of  July,  raised  the  American 
flag  in  the  Plaza  of  the  Pueblo  of  Yerba  Buena  and  pro- 
claimed the  annexation  of  California  by  the  United 
States."  And  on  the  other  three  sides  of  this  monu- 
ment should  be  similar  panels  in  bronze  depicting  the 
discovery  of  San  Francisco  Bay  by  Portola  and  another 
showing  Fort  Gunnybags  and  perhaps  the  arrival  of 
Stevenson's  regiment — (here  was  a  Stevenson  who 
really  belonged) — with  medallion  portraits  in  bronze  of 
Portola  and  Colonel  Stevenson  and  perhaps  William  T. 
Coleman,  leader  of  the  Vigilantes,  all  with  suitable  in- 
scriptions. This  monument  should  be  surmounted  by 
a  flag-pole  set  in  an  ornamental  bronze  support,  and 
every  year  on  the  ninth  of  July  the  ceremony  of  reading 
the  proclamation  and  raising  the  flag,  with  a  salute  of 
twenty-one  guns  should  be  performed,  "lest  we  forget." 

This  annual  celebration  would  give  an  additional 
interest  to  San  Francisco. 

Every  great  city  has  an  annual  celebration  pecu- 
liarly its  own.  New  Orleans  has  her  "Mardi  Gras." 
St.  Louis  has  her  parade  of  the  Veiled  Prophet,  St.  Pe- 
tersburg, during  the  reign  of  the  Czars,  celebrated  the 


15 

annual  Blessing  of  the  Neva.  London  has  her  Lord 
Mayor's  Parades,  and  her  Guard  Mounts,  Philadelphia 
has  her  New  Year's  Carnival,  etc.,  etc. 

The  ceremony  in  Portsmouth  Square  could  be  pre- 
ceded by  a  pageant,  presenting  the  local  color  of  frontier 
days, — trappers  in  buckskin  clothes,  Mission  Indians, 
stage  coaches,  post-riders,  prairie  schooners,  and  va- 
queros  and  a  Captain  Montgomery,  wearing  the  Naval 
officers'  uniform  of  1846— high  stock,  cocked  hat  and 
epaulets,  to  hoist  the  flag  and  read  the  proclamation. 

On  the  twelfth  of  October,  every  year,  Columbus 
lands  at  the  foot  of  Van  Ness  Avenue  to  commemorate 
the  discovery  of  the  West  Indies  in  1 492. 

Are  Americans  less  patriotic  than  Italians?  Here  is 
the  way  for  San  Francisco  to  find  herself.  Can  she 
do  it? 

San  Francisco  occupies  a  unique  position  in  the 
center  of  the  stage  on  which  was  enacted  the  closing 
scenes  of  the  great  drama  of  the  Conquest  of  the  West. 

To  the  north  of  San  Francisco  at  Sonoma  the  bear 
flag  was  raised  on  June  the  fourteenth,  1846,  to  the 
south  of  San  Francisco  at  Monterey,  the  American  flag 
was  hoisted  and  California  annexed  by  Commodore 
Sloat  on  the  seventh  day  of  July,  1 846.  It  is  impossible 
to  over-estimate  the  importance  of  these  events  to  Cali- 
fornia and  indeed  to  all  the  United  States. 

Consider  that  but  one  year — six  months  and  four- 
teen days  elapsed  after  the  annexation  of  California  by 
the  United  States,  until  the  discovery  of  gold  by  James 
Marshall  at  Sutter's  Mill.  By  so  narrow  a  margin  and 


16 

by  so  slender  a  chance  was  determined  the  fate  of  Cali- 
fornia. The  British  naval  squadron  in  California  waters 
at  that  time  was  more  powerful  than  the  American 
squadron.  There  is  not  the  slightest  doubt  that  England 
would  have  annexed  California,  had  the  British  govern- 
ment but  known  of  the  vast  wealth  of  the  California 
gold  fields.  Had  Marshall's  epoch-making  discovery 
occurred  but  two  years  earlier,  or  had  the  annexation  of 
California  been  delayed  but  six  hundred  days,  Cali- 
fornia would  probably  today  be  a  province  of  the  Brit- 
ish Empire. 

In  the  midst  of  these  dramatic  events,  the  frontier 
post  by  the  Golden  Gate,  occupied  the  center  of  the 
stage,  and  this  historical  interest  is  San  Francisco's 
most  valuable  asset.  Neither  Seattle  nor  Los  Angeles, 
can  boast  any  such  historical  interest  as  that  which 
attaches  to  San  Francisco  as  the  first  and  most  impor- 
tant stronghold  of  American  nationalism  on  the  Pacific 
Coast. 

Moreover,  there  is  yet  another  advantage  which  San 
Francisco  would  derive  from  an  annual  ninth  of  July 
celebration  in  Portsmouth  Square.  California  was  an- 
nexed by  the  Navy. 

The  Navy  would  raise  the  flag  and  read  the  procla- 
mation and  fire  the  salute,  in  Portsmouth  Square,  and 
thus  San  Francisco's  position  as  the  center  of  Naval 
activities  on  the  Pacific  Coast  would  be  confirmed. 

The  annual  celebration  in  Portsmouth  Square  would 
add  to  the  attractiveness  of  San  Francisco.  It  would 
stimulate  patriotism.  It  would  boost  the  American 


17 

propaganda.  It  would  stimulate  recruiting  for  the  Navy. 
It  would  give  to  San  Francisco  a  definite  historical  back- 
ground. It  would  bring  back  from  the  romantic  past,  a 
gleam  of  that  romantic  charm  and  sentimental  interest 
which  attaches  to  "the  days  of  old,  the  days  of  gold,  the 
days  of  forty-nine." 

Portsmouth  Square  has  a  flag.  It  is  kept  in  a  latrine 
at  the  rear  of  the  Square. 

If  you  search  diligently  you  may  find  at  one  corner 
of  the  Square,  a  cheap  little  sign-board  on  a  pole,  on 
which  is  told  the  distance  to  San  Rafael  Mission  and  to 
which  is  added,  by  way  of  postscript,  something  about 
Captain  Montgomery  and  the  hoisting  of  the  flag. 

A  latrine  for  the  American  flag,  a  postscript  on  a 
cheap  tin  sign  for  Captain  Montgomery,  and  a  beautiful 
monument  of  granite  and  bronze  in  the  center  of  the 
square  for  a  Scotch  novelist  who  never  saw  Portsmouth 
Square  until  thirty-five  years  after  Captain  Mont- 
gomery, by  his  historic  act,  had  given  the  Square  its 
name  and  its  historic  interest. 

There  will  be  no  cheap  little  sign-boards  about  the 
million  dollar  monument  to  French  tradition,  which  is 
being  built  beside  the  Golden  Gate. 

The  ground  for  this  magnificent  French  monument, 
was  broken  with  a  golden  shovel,  if  you  please.  The 
ceremonies  of  the  occasion,  were  on  a  scale,  suggestive 
of  the  inauguration  of  a  President  of  the  United  States. 

Three  clergymen  were  needed  to  invoke  the  Divine 
blessing.  It  was  all  very  French.  A  chorus  of  enthu- 
siastic Frenchmen  sang  the  "Marseillaise."  They  sang 


16 

"Ye  sons  of  France!  Awake  to  Glory!"  How  about 
the  sons  of  America?  Is  it  not  about  time  for  them  to 
wake  up?  A  French  flag,  made  of  California  silk,  was 
reverently  deposited  in  a  bronze  box  under  the  corner- 
stone, and  then  a  man  named  French,  deposited  a 
wreath  on  top  of  the  corner-stone. 

The  French  Consul  put  in  a  good  boost  for  France. 
The  occasion  was  further  graced  by  the  presence  of 
Frenchmen  wearing  the  ribbon  of  the  Legion  of  Honor 
of  France.  Vive  la  France ! 

The  Palace  will  stand  on  the  top  of  the  hill,  overlook- 
ing the  Golden  Gate,  so  that  it  will  be  the  first  thing  seen 
by  travelers  approaching  from  the  sea  and  the  last  thing 
seen  by  those  departing. 

The  Golden  Gate  dominated  by  a  French  tradition! 
It  only  remains  to  re-name  the  Golden  Gate  and  call  it 
"La  Porte  d'Or." 

From  the  newspapers,  we  get  the  following  gem  of 
American  patriotism. 

"Any  Frenchman  who  arrives  in  San  Fran- 
cisco after  next  year,  will  wonder,  as  he  visits 
Lincoln  Park,  whether  he  is  really  in  his  beloved 
Paris,  or  whether  one  of  the  most  beautiful  of 
the  public  buildings  of  that  wonderful  city  has 
been  removed  bodily  to  the  Golden  Gate.*' 
The  cost  of  this  beautiful  French  monument  will 
approximate  that  of  the  California  State  Palace  in  the 
Civic  Center. 

In  order  that  American  traditions  may  be  ade- 
quately commemorated  in  Lincoln  Park,  the  Queen  of 


19 

Roumania  will  provide  a  Roumanian  Room.  Now  let 
the  Akoond  of  Swat  provide  a  Swatarian  Room  and 
then  the  park  that  was  named  for  Abraham  Lincoln  will 
be  complete. 

As  for  that  vulgar  Lincoln  person,  who  never  saw  a 
golden  shovel  in  all  his  life,  and  who  was  entirely  with- 
out distinguished  ancestry  among  the  "haute  noblesse" 
of  France,  let  him  be  remembered  somewhere  else.  We 
need  Lincoln  Park  for  France. 

When  President  Lincoln  was  struggling  to  save  this 
nation,  one  of  his  most  formidable  antagonists  was  Na- 
poleon the  Third,  Emperor  of  France,  and  today  San 
Francisco  builds  a  monument  to  Bonaparteism,  beside 
the  Golden  Gate  and  in  Lincoln  Park.  Can  you  beat  it? 

Buyers  will  come  to  San  Francisco  from  the  Orient 
and  from  South  America,  and  the  first  exhibit  that  San 
Francisco  will  show  them  will  be  the  glorification  of 
French  culture  and  French  history. 

The  American  Army  had  to  pay  rent  for  the  trenches 
which  it  occupied  in  France,  and  San  Francisco  gives  to 
France,  rent-free  and  forever,  the  use  of  the  Golden 
Gate,  for  the  exhibition  of  French  art  and  culture. 

Meanwhile,  an  American  flag,  not  made  of  silk,  lies 
in  the  latrine  in  Portsmouth  Square,  and  Captain  Mont- 
gomery's cheap  and  shabby  little  sign-board  rattles  in  the 
breeze. 


THE  SAN  FRANCISCO  CIVIC  CENTER 
The  San  Francisco  Civic  Center,  presents  one  of 
those  rare  architectural  opportunities,  such  as  occur  but 
once  in  the  lifetime  of  any  community. 

The  character  of  a  civilization  is  established  more 
convincingly  by  the  evidence  of  its  monumental  archi- 
tecture than  by  any  other  evidence.  This  is  true,  not 
only  in  our  own  time,  but  it  has  been  true  at  every  pe- 
riod of  the  world's  history  from  the  time  of  the  remotest 
antiquity.  If  you  wish  to  understand  those  civilizations 
which  have  preceded  our  own,  you  have  only  to  study 
the  monumental  architecture  which  those  civilizations 
have  produced. 

The  Pyramids  of  Egypt  were  built  to  idealize  the 
Pharaohs,  or  God-kings  of  Egypt,  in  persuance  of  the 
policy  of  organizing  a  strongly  centralized  government, 
which  the  statesmen  of  Egypt  believed  to  be  necessary 
to  protect  the  nation  from  pestilence  and  famine  and 
civil  war  within,  and  from  powerful  enemies  outside. 
In  pursuance  of  this  policy  they  built  the  Pyramids  and 
the  great  temples  and  they  decorated  these  structures 
with  sculpture,  which  idealized  the  folk-lore  and  his- 
torical traditions  which  were  dear  to  the  hearts  of  the 
people.  So  well  was  this  done  that  you  have  only  to 
study  the  architectural  monuments  in  the  Valley  of  the 
Nile  and  straightway  the  entire  structure  of  Egyptian 
society,  political,  economic,  social  and  religious  stands 
revealed  before  you. 


21 

On  the  Acropolis  at  Athens,  stand  those  monu- 
ments, which,  even  in  their  decay,  are  the  admiration 
of  mankind. 

The  unmistakable  nobility  of  tone  of  the  ancient 
Greek  architecture  testifies  to  the  quality  of  the  civili- 
zation which  produced  it.  The  Greek  statesmen  under- 
took to  establish  certain  ideals,  political,  social  and  re- 
ligious in  the  minds  of  the  people  and  they  employed, 
as  statesmen  of  every  age  and  every  clime,  have  done, 
the  aid  of  monumental  architecture  to  lend  the  utmost 
dignity  and  impressiveness  to  those  ideals. 

They  decorated  their  temples  with  sculptures  which 
idealized  the  folk-lore  and  historical  traditions  which 
were  dear  to  the  hearts  of  the  people. 

On  the  facade  of  the  Parthenon,  Theseus  battles 
with  the  Centaurs,  Athena  disputes  with  Poseidon,  for 
possession  of  the  land  of  Athens  and  the  Gods  inter- 
vene to  help  the  Greek  heroes  in  their  combats  with  the 
Amazons  and  the  Persians. 

In  the  Forum  Romanum,  stand  those  architectural 
monuments,  which  testify  to  the  wealth,  the  power  and 
the  political  genius  of  Imperial  Rome. 

The  characteristic  monuments  of  Imperial  Rome 
are  the  triumphal  arches,  built  to  lend  the  utmost  dignity 
to  military  parades,  which  testify  to  the  super-impor- 
tance of  militarism  in  the  Roman  scheme  of  govern- 
ment. 

These  monuments  are  decorated  with  sculptures 
which  tell  the  story  of  Rome's  military  triumphs. 


22 

On  the  arch  of  Titus,  the  centurions  carry  the  seven- 
branched  candelabrum  from  the  temple  of  Jerusalem. 

The  Arch  of  Cons  tan  tine  narrates  in  sculpture,  the 
story  of  his  victory  over  Maxentius. 

The  Arch  of  Septimius  Severus  commemorates  his 
victories  over  the  Parthians. 

The  Column  of  Trajan  is  a  sculptural  narrative  of 
his  victorious  campaigns  against  the  Dacians. 

The  Gothic  Cathedrals  of  Northern  Europe  testify, 
in  enduring  stone,  to  the  mysticism,  the  spirituality,  the 
chivalry  of  the  age  that  produced  them. 

Not  only  is  it  true  that  the  character  of  a  civilization 
is  established  more  convincingly  by  the  evidence  of  its 
monumental  architecture,  than  by  any  other  evidence, 
but  it  is  also  true  that  national  and  racial  temperaments 
find  their  most  convincing  expression  in  architecture. 
For  example,  the  characteristic  architecture  of  Italy  is 
the  architecture  of  arcades  and  colonnades,  which  ex- 
press the  idea  of  dignity,  inherited  from  the  Roman  tra- 
dition, the  colonnade  being  the  most  dignified  element 
of  architectural  design. 

The  characteristic  architecture  of  Spain,  is  the  archi- 
tecture of  balconies,  which  express  the  idea  of  domestic 
seclusion,  inherited  from  the  Moors.  The  characteristic 
architecture  of  France  is  the  architecture  of  picturesque 
roofs — of  dormers  and  turrets  and  towers,  which  ex- 
press the  gaiety  of  the  French  temperament.  The  char- 
acteristic architecture  of  Germany  and  the  Netherlands 
is  the  architecture  of  gables,  which  express  the  practical, 
matter-of-fact  Teutonic  temperament,  the  gable  being 


23 

the  most  practical  solution  of  a  facade  in  a  country 
where  the  snow-fall  necessitates  steep  roofs.  The  char- 
acteristic architecture  of  America  is  the  high  office 
building  which  expresses  the  economic  and  industrial 
flare  of  a  middle-class  civilization. 

The  dome  of  the  Capitol  at  Washington,  symbolizes 
the  idea  of  national  unity. 

You  will  find  nothing  else  in  the  literature,  the  music 
or  the  art  of  America,  which  expresses  that  idea  as  well 
as  it  is  expressed  by  that  architectural  monument. 

The  above  brief,  cursory,  and  necessarily  superficial 
summary  of  some  of  the  salient  facts  of  archaeology  will 
help  us  to  realize  the  importance  of  the  monumental 
architecture  of  the  San  Francisco  Civic  Center  as  an  ex- 
ponent of  the  civilization  which  produced  it. 

The  well-built,  earthquake-proof  and  fire-proof  pal- 
aces of  the  San  Francisco  Civic  Center  will  stand  for 
thousands  of  years.  A  thousand  years  from  now,  as 
well  as  today,  the  monumental  architecture  of  the  San 
Francisco  Civic  Center  will  give  the  final  appraisement 
of  the  civilization  of  our  times,  in  this  part  of  the  world. 
A  thousand  years  from  now,  as  well  as  today,  the  monu- 
mental architecture  of  the  San  Francisco  Civic  Center 
will  testify  that  the  civilization  of  our  times  in  this  part 
of  the  world  is  a  second-rate,  middle-class  civilization, 
incapable  of  idealizing  its  own  traditions,  or  of  finding 
its  own  historical  and  geographical  locus,  and  com- 
pletely dominated  by  the  unmanly  and  indecent  cult  of 
foreignism. 


24 

The  San  Francisco  Civic  Center  is  a  six-million  dol- 
lar exhibit  of  European  archaeology,  with  California 
left  out. 

There  is  nothing  about  the  monumental  palaces  of 
the  San  Francisco  Civic  Center  to  suggest  that  they  are 
located,  either  on  the  North  American  Continent  or  in 
the  State  of  California. 

The  San  Francisco  City  Hall  is  a  beautiful  French 
Palais  de  Justice  in  the  style  of  Louis  the  Sixteenth  of 
France,  who  had  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  San  Fran- 
cisco or  with  California,  and  this  beautiful  French  Palais 
de  Justice  is  richly  decorated,  inside  and  out,  with  sculp- 
ture, more  or  less  suggestive  of  French  tradition,  and 
entirely  without  any  suggestion  of  the  California  tra- 
dition. San  Francisco  first  appeared  on  the  map  as  an 
outfitting  post  for  the  mines. 

Now  go  to  the  French  Hotel  de  Ville  de  San  Fran- 
cisco, and  study  the  sculpture  with  which  the  building 
is  so  richly  decorated,  and  see  if  you  can  find  the  miner's 
pan  and  rocker,  or  the  Indian's  war-bonnet  and  toma- 
hawk, or  the  prairie-schooner  and  post-rider  of  the 
Plains,  or  the  ships  of  the  Argonauts,  or  the  frontier- 
man's  cap  and  rifle,  or  the  old  semaphore  that  stood  on 
Telegraph  Hill,  to  commemorate  steamer  day,  one  of 
the  local  institutions  of  old  San  Francisco,  or  the  sea- 
lions,  or  figures  symbolic  of  the  Trade  Winds,  that  bring 
commerce  to  San  Francisco,  to  suggest  that  San  Fran- 
cisco is  a  seaport,  or  anything  to  commemorate  Portola, 
who  discovered  San  Francisco  Bay,  or  any  suggestion 
of  the  Great  Fire.  London  has  her  Fire  Monument. 


25 

There  is  not  so  much  as  a  stroke  of  the  sculptor's  chisel 
on  the  facade  of  the  San  Francisco  City  Hall  to  com- 
memorate the  Great  Fire. 

The  Flora  and  Fauna  of  California  are  completely 
ignored  in  the  decorative  ornament  on  the  San  Fran- 
cisco Hotel  de  Ville. 

The  building  is  profusely  decorated  with  lion's 
heads,  the  French  sculptor  having  apparently  never 
heard  of  the  California  bear.  These  things  are  not 
taught  in  the  Ecole  de  Beaux  Artes  of  France,  and  the 
French  architect,  a  member  of  the  French  Academy, 
and  therefore,  doubtless,  an  artist  of  extraordinary  tal- 
ents, and  the  French  draughtsmen  and  French  sculptors, 
who  helped  him  to  produce  the  building,  never  thought 
of  them.  The  fact  that  the  San  Francisco  Hotel  de 
Ville  is,  otherwise,  one  of  the  most  successful,  possibly 
the  most  successful,  architectural  project  of  modern 
times,  is  outside  of  the  question. 

The  complete  suppression  of  patriotism  and  senti- 
mental interest  in  the  monumental  architecture  of  the 
San  Francisco  Civic  Center  is  an  outrage  upon  the  natu- 
ral rights  of  the  boys  and  the  girls  who  are  growing  up 
in  this  community. 

The  City  Hall  of  Philadelphia  is  surmounted  by  an 
effigy  of  William  Penn,  forty  feet  high,  to  commemorate 
an  historical  tradition. 

The  New  City  Hall  of  New  York  City  is  decorated 
with  sculptures  which  tell  the  story  of  Manhattan 
Island. 

The  City  Hall  of  St.  Louis  is  designed  in  a  French 


26 

architectural  style,  to  commemorate  a  French  historical 
tradition,  appropriate  to  that  locality.  The  City  Hall 
of  Chicago  is  a  typical  American  office  building  of  a 
monumental  type. 

It  has  remained  for  San  Francisco  to  build  a  three- 
million  dollar  French  Hotel  de  Ville,  which  completely 
ignores  the  California  tradition,  and  which  might  as 
well  be  located  in  Bordeaux  or  Marseilles,  or  any  other 
French  city,  insofar  as  historical  character  or  sentimen- 
tal interest  are  expressed. 

Is  it  because  there  is  a  German  House  on  Polk  Street 
within  sight  of  the  Civic  Center,  that  we  have  a  French 
Hotel  de  Ville  on  Polk  Street? 

Let  them  fight  their  battles  somewhere  else.  The 
dirty,  contemptible,  cat-and-dog  fight  between  Germany 
and  France  must  be  kept  out  of  this  country. 

Having  given  us  a  French  Hotel  de  Ville,  the  au- 
thorities are  now  building  for  a  California  State  Build- 
ing in  the  Civic  Center,  an  Italian  "Palazzo"  of  the  pe- 
riod of  the  early  sixteenth  century,  a  period,  of  which  it 
may  be  remarked,  in  passing,  that  its  political  ideals  are 
reflected  in  the  '  Prince"  of  Machiavelli.  At  that 
period,  in  the  long  and  eventful  history  of  Italy,  when 
the  great  ducal  houses  of  Florence  and  Rome  and  their 
retainers,  were  fighting  for  supremacy  in  the  streets  of 
those  cities,  they  were  compelled  to  build  their  palaces 
like  fortresses  to  withstand  a  siege. 

Because  of  this  interesting  historical  fact,  the  Cali- 
fornia State  Building  in  the  San  Francisco  Civic  Center 
is  being  built  to  resemble  a  fortress. 


27 

Unquestionably  the  California  State  Palace  belongs 
to  that  type  of  structure  which  is  known  to  architects 
and  archaeologists,  the  world  over,  as  the  Italian  semi- 
fortress  palace. 

Why  not  have  built  a  California  State  Building  that 
would  have  suggested  California?  The  answer  is  sim- 
ple enough.  The  cult  of  foreignism  forbids  it.  Cali- 
fornians  are  not  allowed  to  produce  any  Californian  ar- 
chitecture. If  they  build  a  San  Francisco  City  Hall  it 
must  commemorate  the  Bourbon  Kings  of  France.  If 
they  build  a  California  State  Palace,  it  must  commemo- 
rate the  peculiar  political  conditions  of  cinque-cento 
Italy. 

The  German  colony,  the  French  colony,  and  the 
Italian  colony  are  represented  by  the  monumental  archi- 
tecture at  the  San  Francisco  Civic  Center.  The  Ameri- 
can Colony  is  not  represented. 

On  the  facade  of  the  old  Pioneer  Hall,  in  Fourth 
Street,  destroyed  by  the  fire,  there  was  a  panel  in  bas- 
relief,  representing  the  cavalry  charge  at  the  battle  of 
San  Pasquale.  You  will  not  find  anything  like  this  on 
the  facade  of  the  California  State  Palace  in  the  San 
Francisco  Civic  Center.  It  might  interfere  with  the  pure 
Italian  renaissance  character  of  the  facade.  No  sug- 
gestion of  the  California  tradition  can  be  permitted. 

Now,  there  is  some  excuse  for  an  Italian  architectu- 
ral display  in  the  San  Francisco  Civic  Center.  Italian 
thrift  and  industry  have  contributed  powerfully  to  the 
building  up  of  California.  After  the  great  fire,  the 
Italian  quarter  in  San  Francisco  was  the  first  to  be  re- 


28 

built.  Roman  architecture,  reflecting  the  pride  and  dig- 
nity of  **Senatus  Populusque  Romanus"  would  have 
been  a  fine  thing  for  the  Civic  Center. 

The  old  City  Hall,  with  its  great  Roman  Corinthian 
Order,  had  a  certain  dignity  and  a  certain  charm,  in 
spite  of  inferior  materials  and  noticeable  errors  of 
design. 

But  the  California  State  Palace,  has  no  historical 
character,  other  than  what  it  borrows  from  the  worst 
political  period  in  Italian  history.  Instead  of  commemo- 
rating "Senatus  Populusque  Romanus, "  it  commemo- 
rates the  age  of  the  Borgias  and  of  Machiavelli.  The 
architects  of  the  San  Francisco  Civic  Center,  working 
with  their  eyes  fixed  on  Europe,  so  to  speak,  have  made 
it  an  exhibit  of  European  archaeology  with  California 
left  out.  To  them,  apparently,  a  patriotic  conception 
of  American  architecture  is  incomprehensible.  For 
them  there  is  no  California  tradition.  For  them  Fre- 
mont the  Pathfinder  found  no  paths.  For  them  Kit  Car- 
son the  scout,  blazed  no  trails.  For  them  Junipero  Serra 
founded  no  missions.  For  them  no  poet  sang, 

"Above  the  pines  the  moon  was  slowly  drifting 

The  river  sang  below 

The  dim  Sierras  far  beyond  uplifting 

Their  minarets  of  snow." 

For  them  the  tradition  "Hispaniarum  et  Indiarum" 
does  not  exist. 

As  for  the  politicians  who  govern  San  Francisco,  it 
would  be  useless  to  try  to  explain  to  them,  that  monu- 
mental architecture  should  possess  historical  character. 


29 

You  might  as  well  try  to  convince  an  Esquimau  of  the 
importance  of  the  discovery  of  the  Rosetta  Stone. 

There  are  statues  over  the  entrances  to  the  San  Fran- 
cisco Library,  but  they  suggest  nothing  American,  noth- 
ing Californian.  In  Golden  Gate  Park  you  will  find 
bronze  statues  of  Goethe  and  Schiller,  of  Robert  Burns, 
and  of  Cervantes.  Where  is  the  statue  of  the  author  of 
"The  Psalm  of  Life,"  and  "Hiawatha,"  and  "Evange- 
line?"  There  is  none. 

Where  is  there  a  statue  of  our  own  Jack  London  or 
our  own  Frank  Norris  ? 

There  is  a  monument  to  Longfellow  in  Westminster 
Abbey,  that  is  to  say,  the  English  are  more  American 
than  San  Francisco. 


THE  GALLOMANIA  PROPAGANDA  IN 
CALIFORNIA 

The  Great  War  cost  this  country  seventy-five  thou- 
sand precious  lives,  a  national  debt  of  some  twenty-six 
billions  and  a  Gallomania  Propaganda. 

The  proponents  of  the  Gallomania  Propaganda  in 
California,  base  their  hopes  upon  the  unreasonable  ar- 
gument that  California  should  be  a  cultural  protege  of 
France,  because  of  the  fact  that  one  hundred  and  forty- 
odd  years  ago,  King  Louis  the  Sixteenth  of  France  and 
his  ministers,  found  the  thirteen  American  Colonies  to 
be  the  most  convenient  battle-field  on  which  to  fight 
England. 

It  is  one  of  the  indisputable  facts  of  history,  that  the 
French  King,  in  helping  the  American  revolution,  was 
concerned  only  with  the  interests  of  France.  He  con- 
sidered it  to  be  to  his  advantage  to  disrupt  the  British 
Empire. 

The  idea  that  the  American  Republic  is  a  creation  of 
King  Louis  the  Sixteenth  of  France  is  preposterous. 
Since  when  have  kings  been  the  champions  of 
republics  ? 

The  object  which  the  French  Government  had  in 
view  was  to  secure  the  Mississippi  Valley  for  France. 
The  Comte  de  Vergennes  considered  that  the  Ameri- 
can colonies  would  be  less  of  a  menace  to  France  under 
a  flag  of  their  own,  than  they  would  be  under  the  flag 
of  England.  Vergennes  planned  to  confine  the  United 
States  to  the  territory  east  of  the  Alleghany  mountains. 


31 

One  of  the  objects  which  the  French  King  and  his 
ministers  had  in  view,  when  they  sent  a  French  army 
under  Lafayette  to  the  aid  of  Washington,  was  to  re- 
cover Canada  for  France. 

These  facts,  which  any  one  can  find  in  the  history 
books,  reflect  no  discredit  on  France  or  Frenchmen. 

The  French  Government  simply  played  the  game 
for  France  and  it  happened  that  they  played  into  the 
hands  of  the  Americans. 

The  attitude  of  mind  of  the  Fathers  of  the  Republic 
toward  France  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  Thomas  Jeffer- 
son, when  President,  seriously  proposed  an  alliance  with 
England  against  France,  and  Jefferson  had  lived  in 
France,  was  well  conversant  with  the  French  language 
and  literature  and  was  personally  a  Gallophile  in 
sympathies. 

To  come  down  to  our  own  times  and  our  own  Cali- 
fornia, the  absurdity  of  this  Gallomania  Propaganda  in 
California  will  be  evident  to  anyone  who  takes  the  trou- 
ble to  remember  that  there  is  not  a  single  French  name 
on  the  map  of  California  and  that  France  has  contribu- 
ted less  to  the  colonization  and  development  of  Cali- 
fornia than  any  other  of  the  great  European  nations. 
Comparatively  small  countries,  like  Ireland  and  Switzer- 
land and  Portugal,  have  each  contributed  a  greater  num- 
ber of  immigrants  to  the  colonization  of  California  than 
have  come  to  this  country  from  France.  Even  Russia 
has  a  better  claim  than  France  to  an  historical  tradition 
in  California,  inasmuch  as  Russia  established  a  colony 


32 

in  California,  as  far  back  as  1813,  two  years  before 
Waterloo,  which  hoisted  the  Russian  flag  at  Fort  Ross, 
near  the  mouth  of  the  Russian  River.  Moreover,  not 
only  is  there  no  historical  or  ethnological  basis  for  a 
Gallomania  Propaganda  in  California,  but  we  have  also 
to  consider  that  the  French  flag  has  never  appeared  in 
this  part  of  the  world  except  as  a  menace  to  American 
interests  and  American  policy.  The  French  tried  to 
conquer  Mexico,  in  defiance  of  the  Monroe  doctrine, 
and  made  a  failure  of  it. 

Bazaine's  army  was  compelled  to  retreat  from  Mex- 
ico under  threat  of  war  from  this  country.  Having 
failed  in  Mexico,  the  French  tried  to  establish  them- 
selves at  Panama  and  failed  again. 

The  best  brains  of  the  Ecole  Polytechnique  of 
France,  went  to  Panama  and  made  the  most  spectacular 
failure  in  the  history  of  scientific  enterprise. 

Having  failed  in  Mexico  and  at  Panama  French 
statecraft  and  French  diplomacy  now  turn  their  atten- 
tion to  California. 

The  Gallomania  Propaganda  in  California  was  in- 
augurated by  the  presentation  of  a  gold  medal  to  the 
City  of  San  Francisco,  by  France,  through  the  French 
Ambassador  to  the  United  States. 

This  presentation  of  a  medal  to  San  Francisco  by 
France,  was  an  act  of  patronage  on  the  part  of  France. 
Medals  are  handed  down  from  above,  not  up  from 
below. 

In  rewarding  San  Francisco  with  a  medal,  France 


33 

took  the  position  of  sitting  in  judgment  upon  the  merits 
and  demerits  of  San  Francisco,  the  pose  of  a  superior. 

What  right  have  the  French  to  patronize  San  Fran- 
cisco, a  city  in  which  they  are  scarcely  known?  The 
French  have  never  played  an  especially  pre-eminent 
part  in  the  affairs  of  San  Francisco. 

San  Francisco  was  not  rebuilt  after  the  fire  with 
French  money.  French  names  are  few  and  far  between 
on  the  assessment  roll  of  San  Francisco. 

France  has  failed  in  her  important  enterprises  in  this 
part  of  the  world,  at  Panama  and  in  Mexico.  San 
Francisco  is  a  success.  Since  when  have  the  successful 
been  patronized  by  those  who  fail? 

The  proposition  that  Americans  in  California  must 
relinquish  their  birth-right  to  their  own  historical  and 
geographical  standpoint,  and  submit  themselves  to  the 
domination  of  a  Gallomania  Propaganda,  which  has  no 
historical  or  ethnological  basis,  whatever,  in  this  part  of 
the  world  and  which  aims  at  making  California  a  cultu- 
ral protege  of  France,  along  with  Tahiti  and  Madagascar 
and  all  the  other  French  colonies,  is  a  personal  insult 
to  every  American  worthy  of  the  name.  There  is  room 
for  only  one  national  propaganda  in  California,  and  that 
is  the  American  Propaganda. 

No  other  national  propaganda  must  be  allowed  to 
take  root  in  the  soil  of  California.  California  is  not 
French,  never  has  been  French  and  must  not  be  put  in 
the  degrading  position  of  doing  homage  to  France. 

Japanese  state-craft  plans  to  establish,  in  California, 
an  economic  base  for  Japan. 


34 

French  state-craft  plans  to  make  California  a  cultural 
hinterland  of  France. 

It  is  the  plain  duty  of  every  American  in  California 
to  see  to  it  that  they  both  fail. 

A  Legion  of  Honor,  based  upon  the  traditions  of  a 
foreign  country  and  patronized  by  a  foreign  govern- 
ment, is  a  Legion  of  Dishonor  for  Americans.  As  for 
those  native-hyphenates  who  are  Americans  in  San 
Francisco  and  French  in  Paris  let  them  expect  no  admi- 
ration from  Americans. 

If  they  want  to  be  French,  let  them  go  to  France  and 
stay  there.  Native  hyphenatism  is  unwholesome  and 
should  be  suppressed. 

What  is  to  become  of  America,  if  she  can  not  count 
upon  the  undivided  loyalty  of  her  own  children? 

Native  hyphenatism  is  the  "little  rift  within  the  lute, 
that  yet  will  make  the  music  mute." 

The  place  to  build  magnificent  million-dollar  monu- 
ments to  glorify  French  history  is  in  the  French  colonies, 
not  in  California. 

American  architects  should  be  producing  American 
architecture  instead  of  reproducing  French  architecture. 
The  example  is  bad.  If  Franco- Americans,  born  in 
California,  build  a  French  palace  to  glorify  France,  what 
is  to  prevent  all  kinds  of  native-hyphenates  from  build- 
ing more  of  these  things  to  glorify  other  nations?  Do 
we  want  California  to  degenerate  into  a  group  of  for- 
eign colonies,  dominated  by  foreign  ideals  and  foreign 
traditions,  foreign  sympathies  and  more  or  less  by  for- 
eign interests  and  policies  ? 


35 


When  the  Pioneers  were  fighting  their  way  through 
the  Indians  to  get  to  California  in  the  old  days,  they 
were  not  doing  it  to  establish  a  new  cultural  hinterland 
for  France  in  California. 

Nobody  can  find  fault  with  the  idea  of  honoring 
heroes,  but  it  should  be  worked  out  on  an  American 
basis,  and  without  the  taint  of  foreignism. 

San  Francisco  needs  schools  wherewith  to  advance 
the  American  Propaganda  and  lacks  the  money  where- 
with to  build  them,  but  she  can  spend  a  million  dollars 
for  a  palace  to  advance  the  Gallomania  Propaganda. 
San  Francisco  has  raised  enormous  sums  of  money  for 
foreign  charities  and  foreign  propagandas,  and  in  the 
meanwhile,  down  in  Portsmouth  Square,  Captain  Mont- 
gomery's cheap  and  shabby  little  signboard  rattles  in 
the  breeze. 


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44 


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